Occupied Ogaden

Saturday, 6 June 2015

People have often admired my long, loping stride suggestive of Groucho Marx stalking a waitress. Know then that it was created in the bushlands of British Somaliland, a parched and quarrelsome corner of north-east Africa full of volatile, vehement tribes and crazy, recalcitrant camels.

In that oven-hot, ant-hill-dotted, thorn-bush-flecked, territory, with Beau Geste to the west, Biggles Flies South to the north, Prester John to the south and Sinbad the Sailor to the east, I pounded an Army .303, quick-striking, air-cooled Imperial typewriter in the service of good King George VI.

As an old Somali hand, I sense what is afoot there and expect a Ministry of Defence phone call asking for information and advice to boost Britain’s role in a possible United States action against al-Qaeda’s terrorist network in Somalia, a country that the Arabs claim was made from left-over pieces when Allah created the earth.

I can reveal that your average Som-ali is a cracking good chap who may not always play the straight bat, but knows how to hit opponents for six. When I was in Somaliland, his occupations included eliminating rival clansmen, stealing, feuding, praying and engaging in endless litigation over camels and territory. Doubtless, little has changed since then.

Described as "the Irishmen of Africa", Somalis are proud, violent, romantic, imaginative and quick-witted - not unlike the natives of Erin, a land of lush fertility and EU-boosted prosperity. A country of bush, rocks too hot to touch and brackish water has created a quick-tempered warrior race, fiercer, it is said, than Afghan tribesmen, with a contempt for pain or death, who can pull the trigger, sometimes before they are insulted.

Can you imagine the effect on a well-brought-up lad like myself from Edinburgh, town of the tinkling after-noon-tea cups and peppermint-sucking, Church Sundays, on being socially introduced to spear-and-knife-carrying Somalis with fierce, rolling eyes under mops of dusty, black, crinkly hair, many of whom regarded Britons as top of their good feud guides. One talked and walked carefully.

What was then British and former Italian Somaliland was garrisoned by the British Army where personnel, in outposts among desert tribes who often flew into ungovernable rages about very little when matters were sifted, felt themselves slowly slipping their regimental moorings in the Army equivalent of Le Cafard, the Foreign Legion’s desert madness.

Peacock-proud Somali males often insisted on being treated like prince-lings and, if you had different views, could, socially, cut you dead in more ways than one. Many, however, had an austere dignity about them, best seen when walking, carrying only a spear while their women, burdened with household loads, struggled behind.

The spear and curved dagger have been replaced by the Kalashnikov, the hand-grenade and heavy machine- gun in a ravaged, famine-stricken land - as desolate as Afghanistan - where the government has collapsed and the two chief towns, Mogadishu and Ber-bera, are in ruins after years of civil war and clan feuding.

In 1993, a US force, on a UN humanitarian mission, became embroiled in Somalia’s civil war and ended up fighting street battles against a Somali war lord whose forces shot down two American helicopters, kill-ing 18 US Army Rangers. The Ameri-cans then withdrew from Somalia.

Despite its resemblance to one of Dante’s more uncongenial circles of Hades, I became fond of that nomads’ land, its wilderness silences broken by the khareef - the hot desert wind - the tinkling of sheep bells, the passage of camel-borne caravans and its coastline flecked with dhows, heraldic in the sun. I also developed an admiration for the endurance qualities of the Twiglets-thin, poor but proud Somalis, who claimed, against all evidence, that their land was a Garden of Eden.

The bravest, most merciless but, when they accept you, the friendliest of African peoples, the Somalis are also among the most intelligent. If they could overcome centuries of mayhem and murder, they could transform a dangerous African dustbin into a prosperous, modern state.

I wish it well and wish Uncle Sam better co-operation with its people. If he, too, wishes my support, he can send a message in a cleft stick. An old bush strider will be quick to answer.

I wish it well and wish Uncle Sam better co-operation with its people. If he, too, wishes my support, he can send a message in a cleft stick. An old bush strider will be quick to answer.

Saturday, 29 March 2014

In a previous article under title 'Can Ogaden Become the Next UN Member State?' (http://www.buzzle.com/articles/can-ogaden-become-the-next-un-member-state.html), I attacked five myths that hinder the Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF) in their rightful struggle toward the liberation of the illegally occupied Ogaden and the inception of the Ogaden Republic.

In the present article, I will discuss an equally critical issue of the struggle of the Ogadeni people, notably the National Name of Ogaden. There have been opposite ideas, different concepts, and other appellations of the vast (280000 km1) region. I want to herewith clarify my position in this regard.

Certainly, the inhabitants of Ogaden are all Somalis, with the exception of few hundreds of administrative and military oppressors sent there from the capital of the Abyssinian empire that has illegally controlled the area following unlawful colonial arrangements that date back in the 1950s.

A Triangle Called Somalia Consequently, the land of Ogaden is an integral part of Somalia, and as such it consists in Somalia´s main inland, being surrounded by the coastal areas that shape the two sides (from Djibouti to the Horn, and from the Horn to Kenya) of the Somali Triangle.

The Greater (and only true) Somalia is in fact a triangular land. The third side, vaguely drawn from Tadjoura (Afar part of Djibouti) straight to Mombassa (Kenyan coastland), demarcates the lands of the Somalis (in the east) and the Afars and the Oromos (in the west). Because of its geographical position, Ogaden represents most the Somali West. It has therefore also been called Western Somalia.

But the term is only geographical, and it goes back to the times of Somalia´s colonization. As political term, it was used only because of the anti-Ogadeni vicious hatred and rancor of the Amhara and Tigray elites that dates back to the early 16th century. Western Somalia: a Politically Ineffective Term As political term, Western Somalia is totally ineffective. A similar, ill-fated, attempt, in guise of example, would be if Pakistan was named ´Western India´ or Kosova was called ´Northeastern Albania´.

Totally out of purpose! In fact, geographical terms in the official name of any country (North Korea, East Germany) denote problems ? always! In the case of Ogaden and Somalia, an appellation ´Western Somalia´ would only highlight the negative historical development when in 1960 Somalia became an independent nation, without incorporating (as it should have) Ogaden, and the Somali parts of Kenya and Djibouti, which are two useless pseudo-countries consisting in mere colonial fabrications.

It is therefore essential for all the Ogadenis and all the Somalis to go ahead, and put a tombstone on the malefic Anglo-French colonialism that opened Pandora´s box throughout Eastern Africa.

An Isaaq Antilogy Of course, there is an antilogy to the aforementioned. People may say that Ogaden is, at the same time, the name of a Somali tribe (and this is true) that spans across Ogaden´s territory yet without being the only population of the said region. This type of argumentation is mainly advanced by other Somalis, almost exclusively the Isaaq whose stronghold is to be found in Northern Somalia, in the area of the parasitic pseudo-state of the so-called Somaliland, another colonial fabrication that represents next to nothing.

It is true that the Ogaden tribe does not represent 100% of Ogaden´s population, although they form the outright majority in all provinces of the tyrannized land. But it is not the first time when a tribe´s or people´s name is given to a land whereby the said tribe or people are not the exclusive inhabitants, sharing daily life and political power with other tribes or nations.

In the same way there are Isaaq in Ogaden, there are (equally few) Ogadenis in Oromia or in Afar land but it never crossed their mind to ask the Oromos or the Afars not to call their lands Oromia and Afar land respectively.

There are more Russians in Ukraine than Isaaqs in Ogaden. Similarly, there are Russians in Ukraine, but they never opposed the official use of the name Ukraine for the said land. And undoubtedly, Russians in Ukraine represent a higher percentage of the total population than Isaaqs in Ogaden.

The opposition to the rightful use of the name Ogaden for the Western part of Somalia does not damage mainly the interests of the Ogadenis and/or their struggle for liberation, freedom, independence and national self-determination. Following a well-structured program of struggle, Ogaden will be an independent country, and with the due diplomatic efforts, Ogaden will become a fully accredited UN member state.

Anti-Ogaden Stance of Isaaqs: a Self-destruction Method Projected among Isaaqs The opposition to the rightful use of the name Ogaden for the Western part of Somalia damages mainly the interests of the Isaaqs. Although they try to pursue a policy driven on tribal interests, they end up with Isaaq self-effacement.

Today, there is no Isaaq-land, and if they continue their policy unchanged, there isn´t going to be any. Somaliland will never be recognized as a state by the UN, and already it is not independent but subservient to the Amhara and Tigray racist gangsters who do not give a damn for the Isaaqs´ interests, but merely use them against the perspective of Somalia´s rightful and inevitable reunification.

This suggests that the Isaaqs, if they continue their self-disastrous policies, will still be subservient to the Abyssinians, will still be unable to rule the so-called Somaliland, and will still be engulfed in an unrecognized, agonizing pseudo-state, when the Ogadenis will have an internationally recognized state of their own. It will be truly too bad for the Isaaqs to find themselves out of the administration of an illegal state that simply does not exist for the UN, when there will be a Chinese embassy at Jigjiga. ?.. What went wrong with the Isaaq policy making? This is simple to answer; they exposed themselves to contacts with the malignant colonial states, England and France, and their offspring the US establishment.

Today, in no way can Isaaqs´ conditions of life be considered as definitely better than the Ogadenis´; this alone imposes on the Isaaq elders a total reconsideration of their inter-Somali and foreign policies. In fact, the Isaaqs are not wrong in stating their rights; they are simply misplaced.

The problem will be ostensible, if there is an independent state named Ogaden, and not another state named Isaaq; this may however come to pass, but for this potential development, the mistake should not be attributed to the Ogadenis! This situation will be the end result of a misperception and a mistake originally made by the Isaaqs.

A reconsideration of Isaaq policies, as I suggest, would definitely help avert similar developments and rectify the situation to the benefit of all. A reconsideration of the Isaaq strategy for the Horn of Africa There is a correct place where a Federal Republic of Ogaden and a Federal Republic of Isaaq can coexist; this is the United Republic of Somalia, a united confederation whereby everyone will have his rights respected by the others and all will peacefully work together.

The rise of a free Ogaden will function as catalyst toward this development; it is therefore essential for Isaaqs to put a tombstone on the past troubles and enmities that have been catastrophically (for both Ogaden and Isaaq) over-magnified by the Amhara and Tigray Abyssinian tools of the Anglo-French Freemasonic colonial masters.

The Republic of Ogaden is an inevitable certainty; rejecting their catastrophic policies, terminating their disastrous contacts with the Abyssinians and the Anglo-French, eliminating their anti-Ogadeni strategy, and obliterating the theory of ´Western Somalia´, the Isaaq will markedly show that they took the lessons of Modern Somali History and can fearlessly cooperate with their best possible allies, the Ogadenis, for a free and independent Ogaden, which in turn will herald the rise of Federal Republic of Isaaq within the context of a reunified Somalia.

Only when the Isaaq elders realize that the real hindrance to Isaaq rehabilitation within their natural context, the wider Horn of Africa area, is the fake state of Somaliland, the Isaaqs will be able to reassert Isaaq influence throughout that vast area.

Respect for Tribal Traditions and Rights helps end Tribalism The aforementioned suggestions may look to some Somalis, Isaaq, Ogadenis or other, as tribal of concept; but they are not. Certainly, the tribal composition of the Somali society became a factor of exploitation by the Anglo-French colonials and the Anti-Somali Abyssinian racists.

Undoubtedly, many unfortunate developments occurred in Somalia over the past 20 years because of erroneous tribal considerations of interest. But the best way to exorcize a demon is to admit its existence; you can then send him faraway. Respecting the tribal traditions and identities and duly accommodating them within a confederated status will help all the Somalis to terminate the long fratricide war that represents the worst chapter of Somalia´s 3500-year long History.

An Ogaden ? Isaaq alliance can become the best tool to reunify Somalia, while propelling the two, equally marginalized and undeservedly mistreated, tribes at the epicenter of the Somali politics.

To avert an Ogaden / Isaaq-ruled Confederation of Somalia, the two tribes must methodically deny themselves their best perspectives for the years ahead. Ogadenia: an Unnecessary Overreaction On the other hand, another name has also been used for Ogaden, this time by some Ogadenis: Ogadenia.

The use of this name represents a kind of reprisals to the use of the term ´Western Somalia´ by the Isaaqs. It hypothetically stresses the Ogadeni identity of Ogaden. But is it truly like that? In politics, what matters first is dedication and commitment to one´s principles and fundamental ideals. A reaction against a rival, an opponent or an enemy should never be given dramatically high importance because this ends up with progressive detachment from the original principles which is usually not even sensed. An overreaction on somebody´s part is by definition a victory for the adversary because it triggers automatically an undeniable detachment from the original principles of the overreacting part. In the light of the aforementioned, Ogadenia is an unnecessary overreaction. What is Ogaden´s struggle for liberation and independence? In its supreme level of perception, it is a struggle for identity against alteration, a fight for preservation of a nation´s character, an effort for cultural authenticity, national self-demarcation, and political self-determination.

It consists in an engagement for historical integrity and a commitment for socio-behavioural validity and assertion. In fact, if the Ogadenis "have" to be religiously altered, politically deformed, historically disfigured, culturally distorted, socio-behaviourally alienated, and nationally transformed into let´s say uniform ´Ethiopians´, there is no reason for which the English should continue existing as English and not be assimilated among the Chinese; and similarly for any other nation.

Identity, authenticity, integrity and distinctiveness are not privileges for few nations; they are either rightful for all or permissible to none. But if Ogaden´s struggle is a fight for identity, it is so at the linguistic level as well. In Af Somali, there is no name ending or suffix ?ia. Whenever it occurs, it is a case of foreign word. In fact, the ending ?ia does not add anything to Ogaden and it only alters the name of the region which is the same as that of the Somali tribe.

It is therefore essential for Ogadenis struggling for national independence to stick to their true name and make of the Republic of Ogaden a dream come true. In a forthcoming article, I will examine who can be the potential friends and supporters, and the eventual sponsors and promoters of the Noble Cause of Ogaden.

Dr. Muhammad Shamsaddin Megalommatis
Orientalist, Historian, Political Scientist, Dr. Megalommatis, 53, is the author of 12 books, dozens of scholarly articles, hundreds of encyclopedia entries, and thousands of articles. He speaks, reads and writes more than 15, modern and ancient, languages. He refuted Greek nationalism, supported Martin Bernal´s Black Athena, and rejected the Greco-Romano-centric version of History. He pleaded for the European History by J. B. Duroselle, and defended the rights of the Turkish, Pomak, Macedonian, Vlachian, Arvanitic, Latin Catholic, and Jewish minorities of Greece.

Born Christian Orthodox, he adhered to Islam when 36, devoted to ideas of Muhyieldin Ibn al Arabi. Greek citizen of Turkish origin, Prof. Megalommatis studied and/or worked in Turkey, Greece, France, England, Belgium, Germany, Syria, Israel, Iraq, Iran, Egypt and Russia, and carried out research trips throughout the Middle East, Northeastern Africa and Central Asia. His career extended from Research & Education, Journalism, Publications, Photography, and Translation to Website Development, Human Rights Advocacy, Marketing, Sales & Brokerage. He traveled in more than 80 countries in 5 continents.

He defends the Human and Civil Rights of Yazidis, Aramaeans, Turkmen, Oromos, Ogadenis, Sidamas, Berbers, Afars, Anuak, Furis (Darfur), Bejas, Balochs, Tibetans, and their Right to National Independence, demands international recognition for Kosovo, Abkhazia, South Ossetia, the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, and Transnistria, calls for National Unity in Somalia, and denounces Islamic Terrorism.

Thursday, 20 June 2013

Somali Refugees Fleeing Ethiopian Government Persecution in Ogaden

by GRAHAM PEEBLES

The Ethiopian military and paramilitary forces, operating in the Ogaden region, are, it is alleged, carrying out extra judicial killings and gang rapes; falsely arresting and torturing innocent civilians; looting and destroying villages and crops in a systematic attempt to terrify the people. This is the consistent message coming out of the region and from those who have fled persecution and are now in the world’s largest refugee camp, in Dadaab, Kenya. It is a message of government brutality and collective suffering taking place not only in the Ogaden but in a number of areas of Ethiopia, including the Amhara region, Gambella, Oromia and the Omo valley. Regime brutality that Genocide Watch (GW) consider “to have already reached Stage 7 (of 8), genocide massacres, against many of its peoples, including the Anuak, Ogadeni, Oromo, and Omo tribes”. They call on the EPRDF regime to “adhere to it’s own constitution and allow its provinces the legal autonomy they are guaranteed.”

Around five million people live in the Ogaden region. Predominantly ethnic Somalis, mostly pastoralists, they live in what is one of the least developed corners of the world. Ravaged by drought and famine, the region has been the battleground for violent disputes between Ethiopia and Somalia for generations. The Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF), claim the people of the region want self-determination from Ethiopia, a right they have been fighting for since their formation in 1984. A right enshrined in the 19th Century agreement (enacted in 1948) with Britain, when sovereignty and control of the region was passed to Ethiopia. A crucial proviso, successive Ethiopian governments have conveniently ignored.

With the international media banned by the Ethiopian government since 2007 and with an economic and aid embargo being enforced the region is totally isolated, making gathering information about the situation within the five affected districts difficult. I recently spent a week in Dadaab where I met dozens of refugees from the Ogaden; men, women and children who repeatedly relayed accounts of murder, rape, torture and intimidation at the hands of government forces. Accounts that if true, – and we have no reason to doubt them, confirm reports from, among others – Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International and Genocide Watch – who make clear their view, that the Ethiopian government has “initiated a genocidal campaign against the Ogaden Somali population”, constituting “war crimes and crimes against humanity”.

State Terrorism

The people, victims of terrible abuse, carry with them the scars, often physical, always psychological, of their horrific ordeal. Listening to their stories and the testimonies of former Liyuu personnel, a clear picture of the systematic approach being employed by the Ethiopian military and Liyuu Police operating within the Ogaden emerges.

Arbitrary killings, rape, torture, and destruction of property are the unimaginative preferred tools of terror, ‘use the penis as a weapon against the women’ the men are told, burn villagers homes and steal their cattle, confiscate humanitarian aid-including food, and create an intolerable fear ridden environment. Men joining the Ethiopian military and Liyuu Police, like 25 year old Abdi who arrived in Dadaab in January 2013 and like many was forcibly recruited, are told, “there is no court that can control you, that we were free from the law, enjoy your freedom, they told us.” The methodology of occupation, including extra judicial killing, is made clear, “we were told to rape the young women… When we went into the rural areas, we were 300 men. When we saw a young mother with children aged from one years old to five years old, we would rape her.”

Soldiers that commit many rapes, murders and robberies, Abdi tells us, are “rewarded and praised. They were given bonuses of around 5000 ETB ($250), in addition to the salary that was 2000 ($100) ETB a month.”

Women, like 27-year-old Rohar, tell of arbitrary arrests and torture. Imprisoned with her husband when she was “in the ninth month of pregnancy. We were made to walk for three days and three nights before a bus collected us and drove us for one more day/night to Jijiga.” Detained for two years without charge in Jail Ogaden in Jijiga, Rohar, as most detainees are, was accused of supporting the ONLF and “repeatedly tortured from the very beginning even though I was pregnant. They would tie a rope around the branch of a tree and a noose around my neck, then they would pull on the rope to strangle me. The evidence is still on my body – (she shows me a terrible burn scar on her neck).” Throughout this time she reports being “raped by groups of soldiers. It used to happen around midnight. I can only remember the first three men who raped me. They would take me out and leave the child/baby in the room with the other women, and bring me back in the early morning.” Rohar was released when she was no more use to the soldiers after becoming unwell with abdominal pains, caused, she believes, by the repeated rapes. This account, from beginning to end is typical of many women’s experiences.

A divisional commander, now in Dadaab, related how during their three-month training in the Liyuu they were shown demonstrations in “how to rape a woman, and how to break a virgin”. They are carrying out atrocities in the region in order, “to make the people afraid and to place them under the control of the Ethiopian military, and fundamentally “because there is oil in the region and the government wants the oil for themselves. The military is there to make the people fearful so they won’t support the ONLF.”

Back in the late 19th century, when the region was under British control, oil was suspected to be present in the region, in 1936 under the Italian occupation geological mapping of the Ogaden Basin began by the Italian oil company AGIP. Their records were later used by other companies in early studies of the region and in the early 1940’s oil exploration in the Ogaden basin began.

In 1972 the American company Tenneco drilled a series of wells and found oil and gas. These discoveries mean the region, now desperately poor, is potentially the richest area of the country. In 1975 in the wake of the Ethiopian revolution, the company stopped operations and the military junta expelled all foreign companies. In the past fifty years or so it is estimated that 46 wells have been drilled searching for the black gold.

It would appear the Ethiopian government sees the natural resources of the Ogaden as another party asset to add to its burgeoning portfolio. People living within 100 km of oil exploration sites have been displaced, some GW tell us are herded into internally displaced camps, whilst others are simply made homeless. Sharing the view of the Liyuu recruit, the ONLF believes the Ethiopian military intends to secure the resources for the government and exclude local people. The Africa Faith and Justice Network confirms this view, saying: “With the discovery of petroleum leading to exploration missions by foreign companies, the government’s motives [in the region] are questionable.”

Donor neglect and self-interest

Why, In the face of such blatant state criminality, do donor countries – America, Britain and the European Union, who provide between a third and a half of Ethiopia’s federal budget, remain silent, this the common-sense question, repeatedly asked by victims of abuse. Ethiopia is of course a key strategic ally of America and the west in their fight against extreme Islamic groups, the US has military bases in Ethiopia from where it launches its unmanned drones into Somalia and Yemen. Add to this the potential oil bonanza in the Ogaden, and indeed elsewhere in the country, and a toxic cocktail of mixed motives and self-interest starts to ferment.

The EPRDF government, under the premiership of Mr. Hailemariam Desalegn, when confronted with accounts of military criminality issues blanket denials and accuses groups, such as HRW, of political bias and misinformation. Duplicitous and disingenuous, the regime, which owns most of the media in Ethiopia, seeks to control the flow of information within and without the country, and hide the atrocities being committed by the military and Liyuu to innocent civilians in the Ogaden and indeed elsewhere. If the government has nothing to hide Mr. Desalegn then open up the region to humanitarian aid groups and allow journalists unrestricted access.

Peace is the number one priority in the Ogaden and for humanity more broadly, and all measures to remove the obstacles to its realization should be made by those working for the people of the region. Discussions held in Nairobi in September 2012 broke down when the ONLF refused to accept the condition of constitutional recognition asked of them by the government team. This was unfortunate and to my mind ill judged, what should be insisted upon however, is that both the military/Liyuu and the ONLF lay down their arms and agree an unconditional ceasefire. It is hard to see how one can negotiate a long term solution whilst innocent men are being tortured, women raped, children terrified and homes destroyed.

Saturday, 18 May 2013

My name is Shukri Mohamed; I am a 13 year old middle school student, and just like most American children I didn’t know much about the outside world. However that all changed after I came across an article about the Ogaden region.

Background

The Ogaden is a territory that is populated mainly by ethnic Somalis and is illegally occupied by Ethiopia. During 1891 Ethiopian King Menelik II tried to claim this territory but was eventually unsuccessful. It later became a British protectorate after Great Britain and the “Chiefs” in Ogaden signed a treaty in 1896 that guaranteed Ogaden’s security under British rule. After the WWII, Great Britain ceded the Ogaden to Ethiopia without the agreement or knowledge of its citizens.

Human rights violations

The Ogaden is a vast under developed land that has been marginalized by Ethiopian governments. It has an estimated population of 8 million, of those 90% are nomads, unfortunately the entire region has less than 15% literacy rate. Basic services such as water and heath care are non-existent in most parts of the Ogaden.

The Ogaden is also a military zone where the Ethiopian government is deliberately committing human rights violations against the civilians. The government kicked out all humanitarian aid organizations including the Red Cross and MSF/Doctors Without Borders.

Current situation

The Ogaden is currently isolated from the rest of the world as the Ethiopian government imposed an economic, humanitarian and media blockade. Basically the people are between death, prison, and refugee camps. Most of them live in the refugee camps in neighboring countries; some are either dead or in prison, while the remaining live under intimidation and fear. Most women in the Ogaden are raped and tortured daily and sometimes even killed as they are most vulnerable. Sadly my own aunt was one of the victims who were raped. This is not something new, it has been happening quite sometime in the Ogaden.

Thousands continue to be killed, thousands continue to be displaced, thousands continue to be raped and the genocide continues.

So I ask, why is the world watching the genocide in the Ogaden, doesn’t it hear the cries of the mothers, fathers and helpless children in the Ogaden?

We shouldn’t let this happen on our watch, so let’s all please take action today and be the voice of the voiceless in the Ogaden.

Monday, 6 May 2013

A well-known Somali poet Abdullahi Mo’alin Ahmed “Dhoodaan” passed away at the age of 72 in the city of Harar. Dhoodaan left behind a wife and 10 children; he was one of the pioneers of Somali poetry and arguably the greatest poet of the last century. No doubt the Somali people have lost a legendary figure, May God bless his soul.Early LifeDhoodaan was born in 1941 in Wardheer region of the Ethiopian occupied Ogaden territory. Born to a a nomadic pastoralist family, he had what could have been speech and language delay disorder at an early age. Young Dhoodaan during those years was a very shy, quiet, and observant child, many thought he will never speak again. Not surprising for a nomadic society that had little knowledge of disorders or its diagnosis techniques. Little did they know what was boiling under his prolonged silence and like a volcano he erupted. What followed was a miracle, not only was he able to speak but was able to do so flawlessly through poetry. He spoke elegantly and with ease, unusual for a child, yet what people didn’t understand was where he acquired such a skill.

Poetry did not run in his blood line, in fact none of his family history was known for poetry. But because he didn’t have the ability to speak at an early age, he compensated it through observation. He made sense of his surroundings by silently constructing words in his mind. This would later become poetry, and through this poetry he would later speak about the issues facing his community; whether it was famine, war or love. He did not shy away from challenging the status quo, and the leaders of his community. From that point, it was clear that he was not an ordinary young boy, but a legend in the making.

Cultural Impact

Dhoodaan had many and countless poems, but was famously known for Jacbur, a never before seen form of poetry, a consolidation of unrelated words, yet in a sarcastic way made sense which has subtle political import and messages. It was the first time someone dare challenge the sacred form of the thousands year old form of Somali poetry. Intentionally he poked fun of the old form of poetry; it was brilliant and a comedy at its best. It made people laugh when Dhoodaan brought together allegories of diametrically opposed things such as a goat and a hyena dinning together or grilling a watermelon and sweetening it with hot oil. Something only the brilliance of Dhoodaan can pull off; he became the new standard of Somali poetry and a yardstick for all the other poets to be measured against. He had also a beautiful voice which pulled in and enchant his listeners. No doubt his poetry will forever live among us.

Political ImpactDhoodaan was from the Ethiopian occupied Ogaden region and just like many others who fled the brutality of the Ethiopian regimes, he moved to Somalia; he very well understood what it meant to live under an oppressive regime. It was no surprise that he immediately challenged and spoke critically against the authoritarian regime of Dictator Mohamed Siad Barre in his newly adopted country. After the failure of the 1977 Ogaden War, he openly criticized and condemned the Barre regime for turning the war into a border issue and a disputed territory between Somalia and Ethiopia. He was famously known for his support of the movements for the liberation of occupied Ogaden, as was depicted in many of his poems.

Later in Life

For all he was known for, Dhoodaan later in his life not only accepted the Ethiopian occupation of the Ogaden, but also supported them through his poetry and openly denounced the struggle for freedom in Ogaden in public gatherings. Many wondered how could a man who despised Ethiopian occupation so easily became its voice. Many argued that Dhoodaan was no longer the same man, he was in the twilight of his life and incapable of doing what he could have done when he was younger. In fact, they argue that he has done all he could for his people, urging them to break and free themselves from the shackles of oppression. They said maybe he was a defeated man, maybe he felt that all he has done has gone to waste and fell on a deaf ear.

Unfortunately we will never know these answers. There are those who believe that Dhoodan was coerced and forced to repudiate his previous anti-colonial stance. They say he had no choice; he lived in the belly of the beast (in occupied Ogaden) and could not dare challenge the Ethiopian regime. He was forced to cooperate in order to safe himself. He was aging and did not want to leave his homeland. They reason that Dhoodan himself used say “reflect on my previous poetry” when people ask him why he cannot produce poetry.

However there are many who argue the opposite, saying he should have never accepted Ethiopian occupation, and certainly was not the only man in this kind of situation. Some brought up Mohamud Abdullahi Isse “Singub,” another legendary Somali poet. Singub was a poet in his own right and a darn good one, but was also an actor, producer, director, singer and a song writer. Just like Dhoodaan he was born in the Ogaden and just like Dhoodaan was a big supporter of the liberation movement in the Ogaden. But unlike Dhoodaan, Singub refused to accept oppression and publicly denounced the occupation of his country.

No doubt Dhoodaan will be written in the pages of the Somali history, not doubt we lost an icon. But I have no doubt people will debate his legacy; let’s hope they will remember him for his good deeds, activism, advocacy, freedom for the oppressed, and his impact on Somali poetry. Above all, let us not let the Ethiopian regime own the legacy of Dhoodaan. Let us repossess (by bringing his struggle poetry back to life) the-good-old Dhoodaan from occupied Ogaden

and in the process forgive his shortcoming while magnifying and celebrating his true self, the Dhoodaan of struggle, culture and poetry. It is indeed tragic that his body was wrapped with Ethiopian flag at his funeral. As we often say it’s wrong to speak ill of the deceased, Dhoodaan was not an ordinary man; his spirit will forever live amongst us. Let’s all pray for him, may the mercy of Allah be with him!

The below lines are extracted from his classic Salleelo poem which explained and showed the people of Ogaden the painful road they must travel if they’re to attain freedom:

Monday, 22 April 2013

I should most definitely start this out by mentioning the creator of the heavens, the earth and everything in between; In the name of Allah, most Beneficent and the most Merciful.

My name is Abdie Elyas Makadin; I am a 15 year old high school senior and just like every other child in America I knew not much about politics or what happens beyond my school and home. But, all that has changed after I visited Kenya during the holidays.

I was expecting to have fun and relax. But, relatives I met there and what they have been through all their lives in Ogaden and in Dadab Refugee Camp through their stories were something that forced me to write this piece and inform the world about their plight.

Relatives in Dadab Refugee Camp

Dadab Refugee Camp is the largest refugee camp in the world. It is located in Kenya and it is home to hundreds of thousands of Ogadenis, many of who are my own relatives. According to Human Rights Watch - Ogadenis fled the Ogaden after the Ethiopian government either killed, raped, jailed or tortured them and burned their houses, all while starving them of food and medication - same ordeal shared with me by my relatives during my stay in Kenya.

The plight of Ogadenis

Because of a major drought, millions of Ogadenis are starving. There is also a counter insurgency that has been going on for many years now where the people have risen up against the marginalization and the brutal military occupation tactics of the Ethiopian regime.

Ethiopia has kicked the Red Cross and the Doctors Without Borders and other aid agencies out of the Ogaden and is blocking food aid to the millions starving Ogadenis.

For me to mention Ethiopia's tools of destruction and ways of torture through the scars of these refugees may even seem obscene to word. The genocide in Ogaden is like a never-ending fiasco. Needless to say, the media says nothing about it. Ogadenis are suffering as you read this and the outside world never renders or says a word.

It is a reality that the world chose to ignore, because, the same country that has been committing these grave atrocities against innocent civilians in Ogaden, that is Ethiopia, is the largest recipient of Western aid in Africa, receiving about seven billion a year.

This is a Western funded genocide in the Ogaden that is being completely ignored by the Western media and the Western governments, even though they know all about it. And that saddens me, because I'm a Westerner myself.

Illegal oil exploration in Ogaden at the expense of human rights

And then, there is Africa Oil Corp., a Canadian oil company that has chosen to explore oil in Ogaden at the expense of human rights and pay Ethiopia blood money. With these kind of actions, I wonder if all the things I was taught about democracy, Western civilization and human rights were all nothing, but false.

What can be done to stop the genocide in Ogaden?

It is sad that I was taught that my country, America is the defender of humanity and liberator of the oppressed peoples all over the world, yet it funds the genocidal regime in Ethiopia that commits all these atrocities against innocent civilians in Ogaden.

I ask of my dear president, Mr. Obama to intervene and help put an end to Ethiopia's genocide in Ogaden. I ask of him to take action and stop funding this tyrannical regime that has been committing atrocities for so long and bring justice and freedom to this region that has hardly ever seen peace.

If my country, America is with the oppressed and not the oppressor and the promises of my president were real, then surely now is the time to prove it!